


A Shrike to Your Sharp and Glorious Thorn

by CertifiedPissWizard



Series: Heaven Bent to Hell [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Helen said Monster Jon rights babey, Like, and decided to go full monster if hed just been shown, anyways do u ever think about, basic kindness and encouragement from helen, because thats my bran at this point, for season 4 jon to have just given up, helen: jon if you dont eat your trauma you cant have desert, how easy it would have been, i cant spell, i meant to say brand instead of bran, its the helen and jon friendship we all deserve, like if i continue this there will be jonhelen just putting that down, like the boy had no support network, oh yeah also theres tender and touchstarved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23991568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertifiedPissWizard/pseuds/CertifiedPissWizard
Summary: Helen peaks out, smiling. She's the only person who's genuinely smiled at him since he's woken up from his coma. "You're looking downright peaky. When's the last time you ate real food instead of just your pieces of paper?"
Relationships: Helen & Jonathan Sims
Series: Heaven Bent to Hell [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985492
Comments: 11
Kudos: 177





	A Shrike to Your Sharp and Glorious Thorn

**Author's Note:**

> cant come up w a title? time for a vaguely related hozier lyric baby anyways please give me a better title im begging

Jon is hungry again, not that it's new. The written statements don't fill him up anymore, and he's surrounded by people who've been marked. It's practically a buffet, and he's starving. He's doing his best, trying his hardest to stay human, to stay himself, and they hate him for it. Melanie turns from her humanity, grows angrier and angrier, and that's okay. Jon is so hungry, and so tired.

  
"Archivist." He looks to where the door appeared, and Helen peaks out, smiling. She's the only person who's genuinely smiled at him since he's woken up from his coma. "You're looking downright peaky. When's the last time you ate real food instead of just your pieces of paper?" 

  
"I don't want to do that. I'm not like that. I'm not-"

  
"Like me, Archivist? A monster? Happy? Someone with friends?" She reaches out a hand towards him, and Jon has seen the damage those hands can do. He doesn't move. Her hand is so gentle when it cups his cheek, not stinging or hurting in the slightest. Her smile gentles, too. "You don't have to do this to yourself, Archivist. Do they have any right to judge you when Melanie feeding her god kills people? Well, she kills monsters. You don't have to starve yourself, Archivist. We're both monsters here, and only your Beholding is watching." He can barely focus on the words she's saying as her thumb rubs up and down his cheekbone. He doesn't know whether to lean into the touch or try to move away from it. She places her other hand on the back of his head, running her fingers along it and through his hair, and Jon doesn't move, almost spellbound. "You don't have to destroy yourself like this." Jon couldn't say anything if he tried, not in the face of gentle touches and a gentle smile. "What do you say, Archivist? Can I help you?" Jon nods, and he doesn't know if it's him moving his head or the far too gentle hand Helen has on the back of his head. It doesn't matter, because her smile brightens and she kisses him on the cheek she isn't cupping. "I'll be back in a moment. Don't go anywhere!" She slips back through a door that was not there, and Jon is left reeling.

  
He isn't left reeling for long, though.

  
She returns holding a man by the scruff of his neck. He has a story, this man. Jon is so terribly hungry, and Helen turns that gentle smile on him again. "Go on, Archivist. It's only us two and your god." Who is he to deny someone smiling at him for the first time since he woke up? And so gently, too. "You shouldn't reject gifts."

  
"Statement of Joseph Richards regarding a doorway. Statement taken direct from subject. Statement begins." She looks almost proud.

* * *

  
"Well fed is a good look on you, Archivist. Lovely job." She touches him again, ruffles his hair. "I quite think that we should do this again some time, don't you?" Jon is a monster, and he shouldn't have done this. Helen looks proud of him, though. She's smiling, and when she touches him it doesn't hurt. He doesn't remember the last time anyone has treated him this kindly

.  
"Yes." 

  
"Good." She pulls him onto the couch in his office, leans him into her, goes back to coming her fingers through his hair, and Jon should move. He should move and never do this again and- this is the some of the first tenderness he's experienced in- She kisses the top of his head. "I'm proud of you, Archivist. Taking care of yourself." She wants him to be a monster, Jon knows. It's obvious if you think about it. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad, though. She's happy. All of the avatars he's seen that have embraced it have been happy. Is it worth being human if he's hungry all the time? Is it worth it if he's miserable and hated and alone?

  
"Thank you, Helen." He closes his eyes, relaxes into her side. He can feel her smile into the top of his head as she presses a kiss there.

  
"Of course, Archivist. I take care of my friends." He falls asleep at some point after she says that, and for the first time since he woke up from the coma he doesn't dream.


End file.
